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Random Quotation
Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of finitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of life is to grasp as much as we can out of that infinitude. In N. Rose Mathematical Maxims and Minims, Raleigh NC:Rome Press Inc., 1988.    |
Loci: ConvergenceMathematical QuotationsOur library of quotations is organized alphabetically by surname of the author. Page: 1 of 2 | Next Thales (ca. 600 BC)I will be sufficiently rewarded if when telling it to others you will not claim the discovery as your own, but will say it was mine. Thomas R. NicelyUsually mathematicians have to shoot somebody to get this much publicity. Thompson, D'Arcy Wentworth (1860-1948)Cell and tissue, shell and bone, leaf and flower, are so many portions of matter, and it is in obedience to the laws of physics that their particles have been moved, moulded and conformed. They are no exceptions to the rule that God always geometrizes. Their problems of form are in the first instance mathematical problems, their problems of growth are essentially physical problems, and the morphologist is, ipso facto, a student of physical science. Thomson, [Lord Kelvin] William (1824-1907)Fourier is a mathematical poem. ThoreauHe is not a true man of science who does not bring some sympathy to his studies, and expect to learn something by behavior as well as by application. It is childish to rest in the discovery of mere coincidences, or of partial and extraneous laws. The study of geometry is a petty and idle exercise of the mind, if it is applied to no larger system than the starry one. Mathematics should be mixed not only with physics but with ethics; that is mixed mathematics. The fact which interests us most is the life of the naturalist. The purest science is still biographical. TietzeThe story was told that the young Dirichlet had as a constant companion [in] all his travels, like a devout man with his prayer book, an old, worn copy of the Disquisitiones Arithmeticae of Gauss. Tillotson, ArchbishopHow often might a man, after he had jumbled a set of letters in a bag, fling them out upon the ground before they would fall into an exact poem, yea, or so much as make a good discourse in prose. And may not a little book be as easily made by chance as this great volume of the world. Titchmarsh, E. C.Perhaps the most surprising thing about mathematics is that it is so surprising. The rules which we make up at the beginning seem ordinary and inevitable, but it is impossible to foresee their consequences. These have only been found out by long study, extending over many centuries. Much of our knowledge is due to a comparatively few great mathematicians such as Newton, Euler, Gauss, or Riemann; few careers can have been more satisfying than theirs. They have contributed something to human thought even more lasting than great literature, since it is independent of language. Titchmarsh, E. C.It can be of no practical use to know that Pi is irrational, but if we can know, it surely would be intolerable not to know. Todhunter, Isaac (1820-1910)[Asked whether he
would like to see an
experimental
demonstration of
conical
refraction:] Page: 1 of 2 | Next |
